IQ

 

	Hong Kong	107.73	B+	51.2
	South Korea	106.97	A-	56.4
	China	106.48	B	47.3
	Macau	106.32
	Japan	106.30	A-	58.9
	Taiwan	105.80	B	45.7
	Iran	104.80	C-	25.5
	Australia	104.45	A	64.0
	Russia	103.78	B	46.6
	Singapore	103.56	A	63.6
	Mongolia	102.61	C-	27.4
	New Zealand	102.35	A-	57.3
	Vietnam	102.26	C-	25.1
	Spain	102.24	B	49.8
	Cyprus	102.12	C+	38.5
	Canada	102.09	A	61.2
	United Kingdom	101.57	A	64.2
	Sri Lanka	101.22	D+	23.2
	Slovenia	101.15	B+	51.5
	Belarus	101.05
	United States	101.04	A+	74.9
	Albania	101.00	D+	23.4
	Switzerland	100.84	A	61.6
	Georgia	100.35	C	31.5
	Italy	100.33	B	48.0
	Netherlands	100.27	A-	58.7
	Peru	100.20	C-	28.0
	Hungary	100.15	B	50.0
	Armenia	100.13	C-	29.6
	France	100.12	A-	56.7
	Finland	99.97	A	60.5
	Portugal	99.95	B-	44.8
	Lithuania	99.95	B	46.3
	Thailand	99.94	C-	29.2
	Serbia	99.83	C+	35.2
	Austria	99.80	A-	58.7
	Belgium	99.74	A-	58.7
	Malta	99.68	B-	40.8
	Greece	99.55	B-	40.1
	Czechia	99.36	B+	51.8
	Germany	99.32	A	64.2
	Croatia	99.32	C+	38.5
	Poland	99.14	B	45.6
	Lebanon	99.13	D	19.8
	Estonia	99.08	B	49.5
	Latvia	99.01	B	45.8
	Romania	98.88	C+	39.4
	North Macedonia	98.88	C-	28.3
	Slovakia	98.87	B-	43.6
	Luxembourg	98.75	B+	53.8
	Israel	98.57	B+	50.1
	Malaysia	98.51	C+	35.5
	India	98.44	C-	29.4
	Montenegro	98.43	C	34.6
	Syria	98.41
	Norway	98.31	B+	55.0
	Myanmar	98.28
	Sweden	98.22	A	61.6
	Ireland	98.22	B+	53.6
	Azerbaijan	98.03	C-	28.6
	Qatar	97.94	C	31.3
	Denmark	97.68	A	60.3
	Algeria	97.53	D	19.1
	Tunisia	97.46	D+	24.8
	United Arab Emirates	97.39	C+	35.9
	Bangladesh	97.32	D	16.9
	Nepal	97.31	D	18.3
	Iceland	97.25	B+	52.0
	Morocco	97.24	D+	22.6
	Faroe Islands	97.23
	Bosnia and Herzegovina	97.13	C-	25.8
	Argentina	97.11	B-	40.5
	Turkey	97.00	C	33.4
	Pakistan	96.93	D	19.6
	Moldova	96.85	C	31.5
	Egypt	96.74	D+	21.6
	Uzbekistan	96.54
	Bulgaria	96.54	B-	43.3
	Brunei	96.54
	Cuba	96.40
	Chile	96.34	C+	37.8
	Uruguay	96.09	C+	37.9
	Ethiopia	96.00	D-	10.3
	Kazakhstan	95.92	C+	35.1
	Jordan	95.73	C-	26.0
	Maldives	95.71
	Philippines	95.68	C-	26.6
	Ukraine	95.66	C+	38.3
	Bolivia	95.56	D+	22.3
	Ecuador	95.45	C-	25.3
	Brazil	95.44	C+	36.2
	Trinidad and Tobago	94.81
	Libya	94.76
	Mauritius	94.66	C	31.7
	Colombia	94.62	C-	27.9
	Kyrgyzstan	94.48	C-	27.2
	Bahrain	94.25	C-	29.6
	Saudi Arabia	94.07	C	30.2
	Costa Rica	93.80	C	32.4
	Mexico	93.64	C	30.7
	South Africa	93.63	C	33.0
	Iraq	93.62
	Yemen	93.43
	Tajikistan	93.39	D+	23.1
	Reunion	93.25
	Kuwait	93.13	C-	29.8
	Cambodia	93.12	D	16.1
	Zambia	93.05	D	18.9
	Puerto Rico	93.01
	Laos	92.97	D	18.8
	Palestine	92.94
	Nigeria	92.76	D-	13.9
	Venezuela	92.61	C-	26.8
	Paraguay	92.38	D+	24.5
	Senegal	92.26	D-	13.2
	Oman	92.18	C-	27.1
	Jamaica	92.00	C-	26.7
	Benin	91.96	D-	12.8
	Kenya	91.69	D	19.3
	Panama	91.65	C-	28.8
	Zimbabwe	91.64	D-	11.7
	Ghana	91.40	D	17.4
	Guatemala	91.35	D+	22.8
	Cameroon	90.59	D	17.8
	Honduras	90.41	D+	20.2
	Ivory Coast	90.37
	Mozambique	90.33	D-	10.9
	Namibia	90.29	D	18.9
	Dominican Republic	90.11	D+	23.9
	El Salvador	90.00	D+	21.7
	Indonesia	89.96	D+	23.7
	Botswana	89.72	D+	23.9
	Tanzania	89.57	D-	14.4
	Afghanistan	89.31
	DR Congo	88.60
	Uganda	88.49	D-	12.4
	Gabon	88.35
	Angola	87.89
	Nicaragua	87.75	D+	22.5
	Rwanda	86.90	D-	9.9
	Timor-Leste	86.70
	Somalia	83.84
	Madagascar		D-	9.0
	Mali		D-	9.9
	Malawi		D-	10.7
	Chad		D-	10.3
	Guinea		D-	6.8
	Burundi		D-	8.8
	Mauritania		D-	11.6
	Lesotho		D	16.1

• Data from International IQ Test (IIT) are based on data from 1,352,763 participants worldwide who took the same IQ test on the website.
• The Intelligence Capital Index (ICI) was created by economist Kai L. Chan.
• The OECD’s Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a triennial survey of 15-year-old students around the world that measures students’ ability to recall learned knowledge and apply it in new settings both in and out of school.
• Substantial research on the subject of national IQs was conducted by psychologist Richard Lynn (1930-2023), working alongside Tatu Vanhanen (1929-2015) or, for 2019’s The Intelligence of Nations, with David Becker.
• Becker’s estimates are categorized by source. T = value is based upon actual test results from said country. E = value is a best-guess estimate based upon measured values of nearby countries.
• Becker’s contributions were highly controversial. He promoted the theory that specific races and genders are genetically predisposed to be more intelligent than others, and both his methology and his objectivity were often called into question. However, his work brought attention to the field and he is frequently (if often grudgingly) considered a pioneer in the field of national intelligence.

Key Findings

Countries with Highest Average IQ

• Hong Kong (107.73), South Korea (106.97), and China (106.48) report the highest average IQ scores globally.

• Higher national IQ averages are often associated with strong education systems, high levels of school attainment, good early childhood nutrition, and widespread familiarity with standardized testing formats.

Countries with Lowest Average IQ

• Rwanda (86.90), Timor-Leste (86.70), and Somalia (83.84) report the lowest average IQ scores globally.

• Lower national IQ averages are often linked to limited education opportunities, lower school completion rates, undernutrition in early childhood, and reduced exposure to standardized testing environments rather than fixed differences in cognitive ability.

What Is the Average IQ Globally?

• The average IQ in the world is typically standardized around 100 in most modern testing frameworks.

• Individual countries vary widely around this benchmark.

Page: Smartest Countries

Countries Ranked by Average IQ

Country IQ Comparison

Differences in national IQ averages are largely explained by variations in education quality, access to schooling, early childhood development, and familiarity with standardized testing, rather than fixed differences in cognitive ability.

Page: PISA Scores by Country

Definitions & Methodology

What Is IQ? IQ (Intelligence Quotient) is a standardized measure of cognitive abilities such as reasoning and problem-solving. Most modern IQ tests are scaled so the population average equals 100. National averages are estimated by aggregating results from large groups of test participants.

Limitations of Cross-Country IQ Comparisons Comparing IQ scores across countries is difficult because results are influenced by education systems, cultural testing bias, language differences, and sampling methods. Some national values are estimates rather than direct measurements. Extremely low averages can also create measurement issues, since individual scores below about 70 typically indicate intellectual disability rather than population capacity.

Controversy Around IQ Data Sources Some widely cited international IQ datasets, including those compiled by researchers such as Richard Lynn, have been criticized for relying on limited or non-representative samples and for combining results from different methodologies. Critics argue that these approaches can produce unreliable national estimates, especially for countries with sparse data, making cross-country comparisons subject to ongoing debate.

Last Updated: May 29, 2026